Cecil Raleigh

Cecil Raleigh (born Cecil Rowlands in England on January 27, 1856) was an English dramatist and actor whose plays, primarily melodramas, were quite popular at both ends of the turn of the last century. The son of a physician, he took up acting with the stage name of Raleigh and specialized in musical comedy. He quit acting to write plays, both alone and in collaboration with other well-known dramatists, including Henry Hamilton, Augustus Harris and Seymour Hicks.

Raleigh was married to and divorced Effie Adelaide Rowlands, a novelist, and then married actress Saba Raleigh. He died on November 10, 1914 in London. Many of his plays, such as his famous 1909 melodrama The Whip (1928) (co-written with Hamilton) were made into movies during the silent era.